Dealing with racism: Colonial history and colonization of the mind in the autoethnographic and Indigenous film Sami Blood

Abstract

This article explores how Sami Blood (2016), as an Indigenous film, addresses colonialism and its consequences. Sami Blood documents historical injustice, shame and how colonialism is internalized by the colonized, and mechanisms of systemic and individual racism. Based on analyses of the film, reviews and perspectives on colonialism and cinema, it is argued that Sami Blood contributes to reconciliation processes in contemporary society because it addresses past events and colonial practices from a Sámi perspective. Sami Blood is the first feature film to use the Indigenous South Sámi language, and the first with a female director, Amanda Kernell.